IT'S GOOD NEWS

Musical Madness

Many music fans were left disheartened this Tuesday after being turned away from a Foo Fighters concert at the London O2 arena for failing to present a photo ID which matched their ticket.

Lots of fans who bought tickets from secondary music sites were prevented from entering by security who had been told if their ID didn’t match the tickets, they weren’t coming in! The problems worsened when fans who had purchased tickets on behalf of other family members were also turned away.

As you can imagine, this caused controversy for many families and friends who were split up, leaving numerous people attending the gig angry and frustrated as they were unable to enjoy the experience as they'd imagined.

The confusion comes after the Foo Fighters, SJM (the event organisers) and The O2 put rules in place that tickets sold on secondary sites will not be valid. The American rock band want to encourage consumers to buy tickets from legitimate sites to ensure they are not paying above the odds for the tickets.

However, Foo Fighters are now gaining some serious animosity following their new ticketing rules,with fans (some of who had travelled hundreds of miles) claiming there was no pre-warning for the restrictions.

Foo Fighters are not the first act to implement these ticket restrictions. Both Ed Sheeran and Adele have also created similar rules to ensure all their fans are able to have a fair chance at getting their hands on tickets at the desired price.

Although the Foo Fighters have received some negative publicity for turning their fans away from the gig, in my opinion, the Foo Fighters have contributed to a bigger movement. They have raised awareness of these secondary ticket purchasing sites such as Viagogo and StubHub, highlighting the excessive amount they charge. Perhaps moving forward, music fans will be more aware of this and aim to purchase tickets from legitimate sites for the right price.

I feel the Foo Fighters have created a double-edged sword for themselves and the ticket sellers. On the one hand, as a fan I would have been very disappointed if I was turned away, especially if the tickets were a gift. But on the other hand, excessive profit making on tickets needs to be culled and the band raising awareness of this is a great thing.

The whole thing has been blown out of proportion, especially after Ed Sheeran and Adele have been praised for the decision of removing the ‘robots’ and ‘middle men’! The O2 arenas had specified that when purchasing the tickets that individuals should bring photo ID with them. So many fans had no excuse when turning up unprepared.

Although in one way, it hasn’t been the best PR for the Foo Fighters, when reading a little deeper into the ticket restrictions my perception of them drastically improves. Hopefully in the future this mishap will be remembered in a positive way – the band have raised awareness and this can’t be a bad thing, can it?

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